Chistery's Story
by Quill of Thoughts
Summary: A story in the POV of Chistery, the main flying monkey. NOTE: I have not read any of the book, and I haven't seen the musical in a while. Rated T because there is some mention of whipping. This is a one-shot, unless the ratings tell me otherwise.


_You've probably heard of Elphaba, or at the very least you've heard of Glinda the Good. Everyone knows their stories, yet this, this is my story. This is the story about _me_._

I was always a good servant, always silent and obedient for the wizard. Why then did he not pay me with pain? _She_ never did…_she_ never hurt me…

Let me start with my history. I was born in the far north of Oz, nearly past the northern border. I had a large family, my father being the leader of our troop. Overall, there were nearly three dozen monkeys under my father's leadership. I was very happy with my life; we never needed any more food than what we had. Yet, about three years after I had been born, I was taken by several hunters or adventurers. They took me to Shiz, as a side show, yet when it became apparent that I was just an animal, they took me to the Emerald City and sold me to the Wizard to be an entertainer for him. It worked out fine…for a few days. He was entertained by my tricks for a few days. After he got tired of my tricks though, he taught me how to read and made me his messenger.

So, for the next few years, it was always "bring this to ____" or "do another of your tricks, Chistery!" from him. There was never any pleases, or thank you's at all. If I refused to or did something wrong, he would have me whipped. It never scarred me physically, yet I was barely hanging on to my sanity over that time. Then, one day he asked me to send him a letter that was addressed to a "Madame Morrible" of "Shiz University". I remembered the Shiz part from my time there, yet I didn't remember any Madame Morrible at all. After I sent the letter, I contemplated seeing if I could talk, if I had the potential of being an Animal, to ask him what the letter was for and who Madame Morrible was.

As I made my way back to the Wizard's chambers, I passed a goat that was being taken in shackles and being taken to the Wizard's grand chamber. He was kicking, shouting and making a huge ruckus. I was wondering what he was being taken for, so I followed him.

"Quite speaking out! If you quite speaking, then all this trouble will go away!" the wizard shouted at the goat as I walked through the door. I made sure to hide in the shadows, knowing that if the wizard was mad that he would take it out on anyone who got in his way.

"I would quit speaking out if you treated Animals better!" the goat replied in a well-mannered voice.

"I treat animals fine! Look at my monkey!" the Wizard glared at me and motioned for me to come over to him. I instantly scampered to sit by his side, despite my apparent inability to move. I couldn't believe that he just said that I was _his_! _I_ was no one's.

"My monkey adores me! He doesn't think I treat him badly!" the Wizard continued.

"Are you so sure about that? Can you speak monkey?" the goat asked. I shrank a little bit, scared for the goat.

"No. I am not a dirty animal. Guards, take him to the…special quarters," the Wizard ordered. I cried out, knowing what the "special quarters" were. It was a room, a black room, with occasional blinding flashes of light. I had been put in that room many times, and each time, it had taken me weeks to recover from it. "And cage Chistery. He should know better than to go against my word. My word is law," the Wizard added. A large guard picked me up by the collar of the stupid red shirt that the Wizard forces me to wear at all times, and thrust me into a nearby cage. The cage was tiny. I barely had enough room to turn around in, let alone stand up. As I watched the goat get taken away, I grew worried about what would happen to him.

"Get the goat. I want him here, at my feet in less than ten minutes," the Wizard ordered the guards. The guards nodded and walked out the door. The Wizard then walked over to my cage and unlocked the door. He roughly grabbed my tail, and pulled me out of the cage, effectively waking me up. It had been three weeks since the goat and I were locked up.

"The goat, sir," a guard said as he dropped a ragged looking goat in front of the Wizard's feet.

"Thank you," the Wizard replied. The Wizard paced in front of the goat. "Well, well, well. I hear you have not abandoned talking yet. If you do not, I will be forced to take disciplinary action against you. _I_ am the ruler of Oz, and what I say goes"

"You are not a good ruler. You will pay for the crimes you have committed against Animals," the goat said, albeit weakly.

"Very well, since you refuse to give up speech, I have to discipline you," the Wizard said.

"No matter what you do to me, I refuse to stop talking," the goat replied.

"I know. Yet what if I harm an innocent? Will you stop then?" The Wizard motioned at the guard that was standing by the door, and he grabbed me. I saw where the guard was taking me, he was taking me to the Whipping Pole, the pole that I had been tied to so many times when the Wizard got mad and wanted to take his anger out on something. I struggled against the guard yet to no avail. The guard tied me tightly to the pole and pulled out the whip. I struggled against the ropes holding me to the pole, yet I didn't get free. I felt the first sting of the whip, heard the whip crack. Over and over again the whip stung me. I counted thirty thrashings before I heard a bleating behind me. I flinched, preparing for the next strike, yet when none came I relaxed.

"I knew you would break down. Guards, send him to the room again, to make this lesson stick," the Wizard ordered, "and toss this monkey here in with the others." I felt the rope around my hands and feet fall of, and the guards grabbing me again. They pulled a lever and this huge cage with dozens of monkeys came down from the ceiling. The guards opened a door and tossed me in.

"Have fun now," the guards laughed. I crawled pitifully to the corner and, nursing my injuries, fell asleep.

"Who is he?"

"He looks familiar."

"Leader, come look. Is this your son?" I woke up to voices around me talking in low monkey whispers. I sat up slowly, my back sore from the thrashings I had gotten.

"What is your name boy? Answer quick," a monkey said in a commanding voice. I looked over at the monkey. I could see that it was an old monkey, and he looked slightly familiar.

"Shlam," I replied softly. I hated the name that the Wizard had insisted on calling me. Chistery. Now what self respecting monkey would have a name like that?

"Where did you grow up, Shlam?" the same monkey asked.

"North. Very far north," I replied softly, remembering the soft snow and the plentiful food. Oh, how I wanted food at that moment. The Wizard had neglected to feed me for the past three days.

"And your father's name?"

I had to think about this now. I hadn't thought much about my family while I was away from them; it was too painful. "Shalam, I believe," I finally replied.

"My son!" The monkey exclaimed. It finally clicked; this monkey was my father. That was why he looked so familiar. Just before I could join in the celebration, a rough hand grabbed me—again—and pulled me out of the cage. The hands ripped my old, shredded, ratty coat off of me and forced a clean one onto my shoulders. Right after the hands were finished with that, I ran off and climbed up one of the many ladders that lay in the shadows. I heard the booming voice of the Wizard's mechanical head just as I reached the top of the ladder—where I felt safest—and a higher, more fragile voice. I dropped down, to see who was meeting the Wizard today; I never recalled a woman seeing the Wizard before.

"E-Elphie, what is that thing?" a blonde woman said, her voice high and fragile. She was wearing all pink, except for the Emerald City glasses sitting upon her nose. She drew close to another girl, this one the complete opposite of her. The other girl had green skin, and was wearing all black, and a black pointed hat. The green girl looked nice, yet just a bit aloof, as if she wasn't really a people person.

"It's my monkey, Chistery," the Wizard said in a soft, caring voice, so much unlike the one I normally heard. "You see, he watches the birds so longingly every day—"

_Wrong, _I thought. _I never even see birds here. He killed them all. _I didn't dare say anything against this, or risk being beaten after the girls left.

"And I was wondering if you could perform a spell that would enable him to fly. Madame Morrible has been looking through the Grimmerie to see if there is a spell that would allow Chistery to fly. She has found one, yet if you perform it, Elphaba, I will reward you beyond your wildest expectations," the Wizard continued.

"You see girls, if you give just a little to the Wizard, he will give you the world," a quite ugly woman said.

"Madame Morrible? How come you're here?" the blonde woman said.

"That is no matter. Here Elphaba, this is the Grimmerie," the ugly woman said, handing the book over to the green girl—Elphaba. She opened the book up to a page that was dog-eared.

"Is that really the Grimmerie?" the blonde girl asked. "Can I touch it?"

"No!" the ugly woman said. "Now, Elphaba," the ugly woman continued. "We understand if you can't read this. I have studied for many years and I can't even read all of the spells in the great Grim—"

Yet the woman was cut off by a musical chanting. It was the green girl. She was sitting on the ground, the Grimmerie sitting in front of her and she was reading from it. I didn't register anything after a words of words hers. I was writhing on the floor, an acute pain in my shoulder blades. Then, after several minutes, I heard the shirt that I hated so much, the shirt I was always forced to wear, rip. I looked at my back, and saw two hideous wings sticking out the back. I looked over just in time to see the Wizard pull a lever and the huge cage of monkeys come into view. I was horrified that _all_ the monkeys had the horrible wings on their backs too. The green girl also looked horrified, and taking the book, she ran off. I tried to follow her; she looked like she would be a better master than the Wicked Wizard of Oz. Yet, as I nearly got to the door, I heard a finger snap, the guards closed the door and they grabbed me. They then threw me into the cage of monkeys, knocking me unconscious.

The next few months were a dark fog to me afterwards when I thought back to them. I was very sad that I never saw The green girl again and the monkeys were always forced to learn how to fly with those horrid wings. We would often be thrown off cliffs to force us to fly, even though we hated it. If we didn't we would be subject to any sort of punishments—no, tortures. Then, one day, several months later, I heard someone walk in. I was laying down next to the cold bars that made the cage, and looked over to where the Wizard's set of levers and his mechanical head. I saw the green girl for the first time in ages. I saw The green girl, and my hope that I would someday make it out of this prison that the Wizard fashioned was reignited. I chittered excitedly, pointing at the lever that would open the gate to the cage. The green girl didn't hear or see me, and was playing with the levers to get the cage open. I looked over to where the Wizard's personal chambers were and saw that the Wizard was coming out of them. I chittered as a warning and the green girl finally looked up to see that the Wizard had grabbed her broomstick. They then proceeded to talk for a while. The Wizard was trying to persuade the green girl to join him, and she agreed to join him assuming that he would set us, the poor monkeys, free. I jumped up and down, excited that I would finally be able to get home.

"Fine," the Wizard agreed. He pulled the lever, and the cage opened up. We monkeys stood there in shock, not actually realizing that he actually was setting us free. Then, at the green girl's bidding, we left. I hesitated, staying back to stay with the green girl. I noticed that there was one other staying behind. She went up to the one staying behind and took the cloth off its back. I staggered back. It was Dr. Dillamond, the goat who was brought here quite a while ago. He was pitiful and he looked…well, he looked like an animal now. The green girl stood up in horror and turned on the Wizard.

"I don't know why he's here," the Wizard tried to say.

"And to think, I believed you for one second," the green girl said scornfully. She turned, took her broom in her hand, and flew away. I followed after her, flying behind her, making sure that she didn't know I was following her.


End file.
